Ingles

History of fracking in Colombia

It is known as “fracking” or “hydraulic fracturing”, the extraction method in which the soil is drilled vertically or horizontally to fill with cement and generate a kind of chamber, in which a mixture of chemicals can be poured. . and water, to extract natural gas and crude that are present in the subsoil under pressure.

Fracking is a practice that is related to increasing the productivity of oil wells around the world; and therefore, with the economic growth of the nations in which it takes place. However, it is an industry that generates controversy due to the possible relationship with earthquakes, air pollution, waste of resources and degenerative diseases in those that are close to exploitation wells; In addition, its most active detractors assure that the figures with which fracking is exposed as a practice of industrial and economic strengthening, have been raised to the convenience of the sector.

How does fracking look in the national context?

In Colombia, people began to talk about fracking since 2012, when the issue of extractions and unconventional exploitation of resources was discussed within the different types of mining present in the country, for this case the extraction of crude oil should have been an This is a It is a subject of forced debate, taking into account the growing oil reserves in the international market and the upward trend in its price.

In addition, the quality of the soil and the amount of underground tributaries were evaluated, warning about the possibility of threatening the reserve of this liquid, due to the wear caused by pressurized water within the structure and the poor collection and treatment of the main input. extraction.

It must be taken into account that when we talk about drilling and manufacturing concrete tunnels to control the fluid, we do not have the depth at which the crude will be found for extraction, nor the possible fracture of the earth. around and the contamination of the water in the subsoil by the flow of the material used for fracking.

 The national government has undergone an ideological change

Hydraulic fracturing was initially seen as a non-recommended practice and the possibility of discarding it or doing it in a controlled manner was considered, evaluating the following points: possible failures in the structure, waste of water and its null percentage of recovery later. to be used in fracking, the water resources present in the subsoil and the risk of deforestation that it represents for the protection of the national fauna.

But the world advances and with it technology and legislation. The national government changes, and so do its interests; For the present, fracking is proposed as a safe and sustainable alternative for the exploitation of resources and the increase in the competitiveness of the country at an international level, both in commercialization and in reserves of crude oil and natural gas, favoring the increase of resources in the oil sector, a growth in the economy and the progressive reduction of the unemployment rate.

Source:

https://thewaterhouse.com.co/todo-lo-que-debes-saber-sobre-fracking-en-colombia